The tills were ringing and so were the charity buckets when generous supermarket shoppers in Wokingham donated hundreds of pounds to a first-aid charity.

Customers at Tesco in Finchampstead Road donated £870 to the Berkshire St John Ambulance during a fundraising drive on Friday, August 19, and Saturday, August 20.

County fundraiser Kim Adrian said: “We know money’s tight for most people at the moment so we really are grateful to all those shoppers who made a donation.

“We rely on public support to continue our work and when you consider that work is very often the difference between a life lost and a life saved then donations like these really are priceless.

The Berkshire St John Ambulance charity has nearly 500 unpaid volunteers who cover hundreds of events around the county each year including Royal Ascot and football matches at Madejski Stadium in Reading.

Volunteers also help to educate members of the public so they can help people in emergencies and the money raised will be spent on helping the charity to continue its work. St John Ambulance is also running a campaign, Save a Life September, with free demos and info. Visit www.sja.org.uk/SALS